Iran renews push for Masouleh’s UNESCO listing
An ICOMOS expert is conducting a field assessment of Masouleh, a stepped village in northern Iran, as the country seeks to advance the town’s nomination for UNESCO World Heritage status, three years after the bid was deferred for further work.
Shaiful bin Shahidan, an evaluator for the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), said the assessment would examine Masouleh’s historical, cultural and architectural features against World Heritage criteria.
He described the 2023 deferral as an opportunity to document more fully the town’s outstanding universal value, authenticity and distinctive characteristics, rather than a setback.
Masouleh’s proposed cultural landscape lies in the Alborz Mountains in northern Iran. It reflects a long history of semi-nomadic pastoralism, mining and metalworking, alongside the town’s distinctive stepped architecture and traditional livelihoods.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee deferred the nomination at its 45th session in 2023, asking Iran to reconsider the scope of the proposed site and clarify the themes that could support a stronger case for its outstanding universal value.
The committee also called for greater community involvement in heritage management and a clear development strategy to ensure tourism does not undermine the area’s social and economic fabric.
Shahidan said a comprehensive report based on the field assessment would be submitted to ICOMOS for review once the expert process was complete. The findings and supporting documents would then be examined under the organization’s procedures.
A decision on whether to inscribe Masouleh on the World Heritage List will be made through UNESCO’s formal process after the expert review.